‘Missing Richard Simmons’ shone a light on taboo social problems faced by millions of Americans

By Quentin Fottrell

Published: Mar 25, 2017 10:54 am ET

The popular podcast tried to find out why the fitness guru retired, but raised far more important questions

Richard Simmons, now 68, pictured in the 1980s.

Whatever happened to Richard Simmons?

Over the last six weeks, millions of people have been listening to the podcast “Missing Richard Simmons,” a series that concluded on Monday two days earlier than scheduled with no real answers, but many important questions. The title was deliberately provocative, and the tone of the podcast veered wildly from the dark, melodramatic “Sunset Boulevard” to the lighter, heartwarming “Finding Dory.”

He is missed, but is he also missing? The series attempted to explore why the fitness guru decided to retire and cut off contact with many friends. Simmons, 68, a beloved television personality for four decades, closed his “Slimmons” exercise studio in Beverly Hills, Calif. on Feb. 15, 2014 and has not been seen in public since. He retreated behind his mansion walls and cut off all contact with his closest friends.

Simmons has spoken often about his depression. The wildly successful podcast, while often times voyeuristic and alarmist, showed that we can never really know someone. By insisting on taking time out to take care of himself, Simmons may once again prove to be an example to others.

The hit podcast showed that we can never really know someone. Hosted by a filmmaker and writer named Dan Taberski — who described himself as a friend of Simmons — the series has been No. 1 on the iTunes charts in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Australia for much of its run.

Taberski interviewed Simmons’s friends, people who said they were his friends (there may be a difference), fans and clients at the Slimmons fitness studio and, in Monday’s final episode, his manager. Theories and allegations about why he went into seclusion ranged from elder abuse and depression to wanting a break after 40 years of pumping up everyone else around him. Some were baffled and hurt by his decision to go into seclusion, while others said he has earned that right.

About that ambiguous and provocative title: People do miss Simmons: his former pupils — many of whom say were inspired to lose weight — miss him and his friends and colleagues miss him, and his legions of fans who followed him religiously over the years from his VHS tapes to appearances on the “Late Show With David Letterman” miss him.

Amid this outpouring of concern was a lot of spurious speculation, and allegations. A former masseuse told Taberski he visited Simmons at home and was, he alleged, shouted at by his housekeeper to leave. But Simmons himself has described his relationship with his housekeeper as like a married couple. (Thomas Estey, a publicist for Simmons, told MarketWatch, “Richard is fine.” Taberski did not respond to request for comment.)

Simmons has spoken often about his battle with depression, something repeatedly mentioned in the podcast, and a mental health issue that impacts a higher percentage of people as they get older. By insisting on taking time out to take care of himself, he may once again provide an example to others.

There is a social pressure to appear happy, and not just for TV personalities. “Missing Richard Simmons” dealt with the subject of loneliness, something people rarely want to talk about. “It’s a really tough thing,” one of Simmons’s female clients told Taberski. “The longer you stay in isolation the harder it is to get out of it because the world goes on without you.”

The podcast helped to celebrate his life’s work. After nearly dying as a young man, he helped millions of people to fight their own demons and overcome debilitating obesity. More than one-quarter of American adults define themselves as obese, but the real obesity rate is closer to one-third of the population.

Intentionally or not, the podcast helped to celebrate his life’s work: America’s obesity epidemic. After nearly dying as a young man, he helped millions of people to fight their own demons, see their self-worth and overcome debilitating obesity.

Assuming Simmons has merely decided to give up his high-spirited public persona in favor of a quieter life, experts say the podcast — while often times voyeuristic and alarmist — shows people care, and doesn’t mean the rest of America shouldn’t ask questions about their own loved ones.

“Isolation is a red flag and many studies of elder abuse say a lack of a good support system and physical and psychological isolation are hallmarks of the problem,” says Kathleen Quinn, senior advisor at the Washington, D.C.-based National Adult Protective Services Association. And the more people keeping an eye on the elderly the better: Over 90% of reported cases of abuse involve a family member or a trusted caregiver, she says.

That did not appear to be the case here. Simmons’s publicist and brother had both spent time with him recently. Talk about Simmons’s health was so unrelenting that he phoned into NBC’s “Today” show last year. The message: His private life was not entertainment. “No one is holding me in my house as a hostage,” he told Savannah Guthrie.

He had hurt his knee, he said, and wanted to be a loner for a while, asked for time and, perhaps, was appealing to the public — us — for compassion. “For all the people who have been worried about me, I want to tell them that I love them with my whole heart and soul, and not to worry, Richard’s fine. And you haven’t seen the last of me. I’ll come back and I’ll come back strong.”